Crystal clear conditions showed the 104m-long New Zealand-registered factory boat Aleksey Slobodchikov lit up about two nautical miles offshore, and the thrum of the vessel's engines was clearly audible from Greymouth on Monday night.
Maritime New Zealand's Rescue Co-ordination Centre said it was contacted about 4pm by the boat about a sick crew member on board. The vessel was unable to get into port at Greymouth due to its size.
The Otago-Southland aero-medical rescue helicopter from Dunedin was instead called in, flying directly to Greymouth. It then flew out to the vessel and winched the crew member off before ferrying him the short distance to Te Nikau Hospital for treatment, about 8pm.
No rescue helicopter machine based in Greymouth, Canterbury or Nelson is certified to carry out night-time winching manoeuvres on maritime vessels.
Kevin Gale, chief pilot at Otago-Southland rescue helicopters, said the Greymouth operation was straightforward.
"The weather was exceptional. Last night it was clear and starry, with a half-metre swell and two to four knots of wind - it could not have been more perfect."
Covering the bottom half of the South Island, the Otago-Southland rescue helicopters did a lot of winching off vessels in the Southern Ocean.
Mr Gale also clarified the rescue would not have taken place on a smaller vessel because of safety considerations, but the size and lighting of the Aleksey Slobodchikov was suitable.
The vessel itself has a colourful past, with one media outlet reporting last year that it was "allegedly stolen in complex circumstances which also included the embezzlement of the money paid for chartering of the ship".
Aleksey Slobodchikov was launched in the Ukraine in 1991 and in the 2014 Russian invasion of Crimea, its home port of Sevastopol was annexed and Ukraine lost authority of the ship.
It was in New Zealand waters at the time and one of the state fisheries senior staff chartered the vessel until 2025, by which time it would be past its lifespan.
Ukraine alleged the charter was part of an embezzlement scheme and by 2014 the Aleksey Slobodchikov was registered as Russian rather than Ukrainian, "and without the consent of the charterer, Ukraine wasn't able to register the boat back".
The charterer is Beautiful Scenery Cyprus International Trust. Its lawyer agent was sentenced in 2017 to two-and-a-half years in prison for bribery on an unrelated matter.
It is unclear who actually owns the boat.
The Aleksey Slobodchikov is 104m long and has a 16m beam with a gross tonnage of 4400 tonne. In comparison, Westfleet's flagship Te Runanga is 26m long with an 8m beam.
- By Meg Fulford
